Mr Chua Thian Poh

Deputy President of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan

Mr Chua Seng Chong

Chairman of Education Committee cum Schools Supervisor

Mr Yeo Kuerk Heng

Principal, Nan Chiau High School

Good afternoon.

          I am very pleased to join you at the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan’s Second Annual Literary Award this afternoon.

2        The Hokkien Huay Kuan has been exemplary in its efforts to promote creative writing and Chinese culture, starting with young children in our primary schools and up to the tertiary level.  This annual event is always looked forward to.  All the Hokkien Huay Kuan’s schools also offer a good range of programmes to promote an appreciation of Chinese culture.  In Nan Chiau High School, Chinese culture is built into the curriculum, as part of its life education programme.  Students learn Chinese history and literature as well as Chinese calligraphy and painting in Sec 1, chess and wei qi in Sec 2, and opera in Sec 3.  Many students also pick up wushu.  Nan Chiau’s creative efforts to induct all its students into the Chinese classical arts are commendable.  They broaden the experiences of the students, and help maintain the school’s reputation for grooming students who are well versed in the arts.

MULTILINGUALISM IN A NEW WORLD

3        All over the world, there is an upsurge of interest in learning more than one language.  Previously mono-lingual and mono-cultural societies are striving to learn new languages and cultures.  Culturally homogenous societies like South Korea and Japan have seen a fundamental change in the attitudes of their younger generations.  Young Koreans and Japanese are scrambling to master English, or to gain competency in the Chinese language.  In fact, outside Greater China, it is estimated that more than 30 million people all over the world are learning Chinese.  This is a telling sign of China’s ascent in the world.

4        The Chinese themselves are more than matching these developments, with their enthusiasm for learning English.  “Olympic English” classes are sprouting up across Beijing, in anticipation of its hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games.  There is even an official Olympic English textbook, rousingly titled “Don’t be shy, just try!”

5        We are living in a new world, where success depends on us being competent in not one language, but at least two languages.  In particular, for Singapore to prosper in future, we must make sure that our young are able to swim in the rising tide of economic, intellectual and cultural interactions between China and the world.  This is an absolute must.  We must retain our identity as a multi-lingual, multi-cultural society, a meeting place and bridge between the East and West.  

6        We must help every Chinese Singaporean to leave school with a natural and unforced interest in the Chinese language.  He must be keen to use the language after he leaves school, and stay in touch with the culture.  He must be able to brush up or advance his command of the language when he feels necessary, for example, if he has to work in China.

7        The Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee is looking into how we can adjust the school curriculum and examination system, to reflect the future needs of Chinese Singaporeans.  One important way is to create more space during Chinese lessons, and in the school environment, for students to practise speaking and using what they have learned.  We have to find ways for our children to speak and use CL in their daily lives, so that they find it a relevant and living language.

NURTURING THE PASSION ORGANICALLY

8        The momentum of interest in the Chinese Language is building up.  Most Chinese Singaporean families who speak English at home place importance on their children learning Chinese well.  More students, even those in traditionally ”westernised” schools are doing well in the language.  I was heartened to see that the first prize (primary section) in the Chao Yang Cup International Chinese Recital Competition came from Anglo Chinese Junior School.  They impressed the judges, even edging a Chinese school from Wuxi into second place.  I made enquiries and found that one of the Anglo Chinese Junior students came from an English-speaking home; the other two were from bilingual homes.  They were all active members of the school’s Speech and Drama Club, and had trained hard  for the competition.  I was also informed that students from Anglo Chinese Junior came in first in the National Bilingual (EL and CL) Speech Contest in 2002 and 2003.  Last year’s winner, Boulder Thng Coe Way, comes from an English-speaking family.  I am told that he only got interested in the Chinese Language after a family holiday in China.

9        We have to find every way to interest our students in Chinese, including especially the growing number of students who come from English-speaking homes.  We must help them to enjoy learning the language, not just to score in their school exams but so they can use it later in life.

10      This year’s President Scholars, He Ruijie and Tan Sherwayn, are also interesting examples.  Both hail from English-speaking families, but went to SAP schools.  They attributed their desire to learn Chinese to being given a greater exposure to Chinese culture in their schools.  Ruijie decided to take up Chinese Literature in Dunman High because of this exposure.  Sherwayn went from River Valley High to Hwa Chong.  He was never very good in his Chinese grades.  But what matters is that he learnt to appreciate the language, and takes pride in using it.

11      Some of today’s award winners themselves also have interesting stories to tell.  Miss Gu Huijun, an undergraduate at the Chinese Studies Department in NUS, will today receive the “Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literature Award”.  She professes a natural enthusiasm for the Chinese language, and yearns to contribute to the national effort to promote the language.  Another award winner this afternoon, Mr Tan Wah Pheow, describes himself as someone who dislikes being tagged as a “Chinese” writer.  He prefers to think of himself as Singaporean, and a bilingual, even trilingual, Singaporean.  He considers himself a writer, although he is specialising in a postgraduate degree in psychology.

12      Each of these young Singaporeans, from the boys from Anglo Chinese Junior to the postgraduate student, are in their own ways role models.  They are Singaporean in identity, bilingual, and have found the Chinese Language irresistible.  They represent the society we want to be.  Our sense of distinctiveness as a society, our sense of being a part of the unfolding Asian story, will depend on our ability to keep our mother tongues alive and well, while distinguishing ourselves by our command of English.  To do so, we must be willing to be flexible in our approaches to teaching the mother tongues, and be realistic in the strategies we employ.  We should allow and encourage those who are capable of mastering both English and the mother tongue to do so.  We should also re-gear the curriculum and teaching methods to help those from English speaking homes to take an interest in their mother tongues, and even develop a passion for them, even if not every student is able to reach a high level of competence.  Above all, we should avoid one size policies, which will result in most Singaporeans having only an average competence in both English and the mother tongue, and speaking mainly Singlish.

A WORD OF APPRECIATION

13      As a civic organisation, the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan’s sustained and tireless effort in promoting education throughout its one and a half century of existence is commendable.  The six schools founded and managed by the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan have, over the years, gained stature in the educational fraternity.  They have established a tradition reflecting the tireless spirit of their pioneers in promoting and preserving the Chinese language culture, through their cultural enrichment programmes.  As we move forward in helping our young Singaporeans be multi-lingual and multi-cultural, may I urge the Huay Kuan to continue in your good work.

14          Today, some 78 of you from primary, secondary and tertiary levels are here, to receive your well-deserved awards.  These awards give recognition to your talents and interest in the Chinese language and culture, as Singaporeans in a cosmopolitan world.  I congratulate all the participants and winners of this year’s Literary Award.  May this serve as an encouragement for you to pursue your passion in the language further.